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e et n. B. BEACH, orwnsr MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 85,199, dated December 22, 1868.

FISH-TRAP.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same..

To all rchem 'it may concern:

Be it known' that I, E. B. BEACH, of West Meriden, in the county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have. invented a new Improvement in Fish- Trap; and I `do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, 'and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute p'art of this specification, and represent, in-

`Figure 1 a perspective view, and in Figure 2, a vertical section, illustrating the operation of the trap.

This invention, though designed especially with refv erence to fish-catching, is equally applicable to the catching of animals; the object being to construct a trap which may be attached to a line and sunk in the water, so that the sh touching the bait cannot escape from the trap. To this end,

The invention consists in a central upright spindle, risin from a plate, of any desired form', (I prefer a roun plate,) and upon the saidv spindle is arranged a toothed ring, of the same or. little less diameter than the plate, that is, if the plate be round, or may correspond Vto thel plate, whatever may be its form, the hub of the said ring moving freely up and down upon the spindle, and arranged with a spring, the tendency of which is to force the toothed ring down upon the plate, andthe spindle provided with a lever or catch, .which will hold the toothed ring suspended above the plate, and to which lever the bait is attached, so that the iish or animall taking thebait will so operate upon the lever as -to release the toothed ring, which will be forced at once, by the action of the spring, down upon the fish or animal, and so as to secure it in the trap. v

In order-to the clear understanding of myinven tion, I will fully describe the same, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

A is a plate, of any desired form, and of a size proportionate to the purpose for which the trap is designed; and om the centre rises a spindle, B, set firmly upon the plate.

C isa metallic ring, provided with teeth upon its lower edge, and may be of any desired form, but should correspond to the form of the plate, and if round, of alittle less diameter than the plate.

The ring C .is fixed to a hub, D, by arms E, or otherwise, the said hub beingY fitted to the spindle B, 4 so as to move eely up and down thereon.

Abve the said hub, I arrange a spring around the spindle, as denoted in 16g. l, the tendency of which is In the saidspindle is arranged a lever, a, (see iig. 2,) upon a fulcrum, al, and provided with a spring, or its equivalent, f, bearing lightly against its upper end, so as to force the said upper end outward; the lower end extending down near theplate, and to which the bait is attached, in any convenient manner, so that when the bait is taken, and the lower end of the lever pulled outward, the upper end will consequently move inward; and the said upper end arranged so that when the ring is raised to the position denoted in red, it will be forced outunder` or into the said hub, so as to catch and hold the said ring suspended, as 'denoted in red.

Therefore, when the iish or animal takes the bait, the lever is forced from under the hub, releasing the 1ing,which instantly falls downward, an d, by its toothedl edge, catches or holds the lish or'animal taking the bait.

To prevent taking the bait over the ring, I cover the ring with a netting, of any suitahlematerial, or.

cover it in any manner, to prevent the iish or animal from taking the bait over the ring.

For catching fish, a line is attached'to the upper end of the spind1e, the lever provided with a bait, so that the bait will lie within the limit of the ring, then the trap is sunk in water, and the iish taking the bait is positively trapped, and cannot escape.A

If for animals, the trap is set in the same manner, and placed in the proper position, according to the nature of the animal to be caught.

It will be observed thatl -I have used the expression ring C, but this I do in a general way, it being understood as including any desirable form for the toothed part ofthe trap. Y d

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim ,as new and useil, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The central spindle B, hollow, -01 partly hollow, at its lower end, and having the spring-lever c enclosed therein, in combination with the toothed ring C, and its netted covering, and the plate A, substan- 'tially as described, for' the purposes of a trap, set

foith.

2. The pivoted'lever a, enclosed vwithin the spindle B, on which the trap G has its sliding motion, substantially as and for` the purpose described.

3. The combination and arrangement of the central spindle B, spring-lever a, plate A,- aud the toothed ring @substantially as and for the purpose described.

1 m E. B. BEACH. Witnesses:

S. O. CHURCH, GEO. W. SMITH. 

